UP

'Bat Shadow' 200 times size of solar system spotted

Home page Science
12 Punto 14 Punto 16 Punto 18 Punto
'Bat Shadow' 200 times size of solar system spotted

NASA got into the Halloween spirit on Wednesday, posting a telescope image of what it nicknamed "Bat Shadow" - a dark conic-shape silhouette stemming from a Sun-like star more than a thousand light-years from our planet.

Axar.az reports citing Sputnik.

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has captured a colossal shadow, cast by a massive star named HBC 672. According to astronomers, its light echoes from a disk of dust, rock and ice that surrounds the star, forming magnificent shadows which look like outstretched bat wings, hence the name.

This feature is literally out-of-this-world as it belongs to the Serpens Nebula, a constellation some 1,300 light-years from the Earth.

The "wing" stretches roughly 200 times the length of our solar system, and strange as it may sound, the shadow, in fact, sheds light on the location of HBC 672, which is too far from us to be seen by Hubble.

The Bat Shadow hints at what the Solar System looked like billions of years ago, explained Klaus Pontoppidan of the Space Telescope Science Institute. "This is an analog of what the solar system looked like when it was only 1 or 2 million years old," he said. "For all we know, the solar system once created a shadow like this".

Date
2018.11.01 / 20:50
Author
Axar.az
See also

Azerbaijan, Italy discuss cooperation ahead of Meloni visit

Trump criticizes Germany’s Merz over Iran nuclear stance

US denies visa to Russian delegate for UN Committee meeting

Turkiye, Armenia discuss reopening Kars-Gyumri railway

Azerbaijan, Montenegro hold political consultations

UK summons Iranian ambassador over 'inflammatory' comments

IRGC carries out military operation in Kurdistan

Ukrainian army losses updated on 1,525th day of war

Presidential family captured in Gabala moment - Photo

Vucic: Best if no one said anything, as oil prices rise

Latest
Xocalı soyqırımı — 1992-ci il Bağla
Bize yazin Bağla
ArxivBağla